Happy “Week after the Presidential Election,” readers! I hope you’ve been productive—Washington, D.C. sure has. The scandal regarding David H. Petraeus, former head of the C.I.A., is causing quite a stir during a period in which the lame duck Congress and President Obama should be the country’s main focus. What will Boehner and his Republicans do about our fiscal cliff? How is Obama gearing up for his next four years in office? Apparently, nobody cares! Instead, the press is doing its best to get to the bottom of this scandal. Was General John R. Allen involved? Just how long did the F.B.I. know about Petraeus’ actions before they came to light? I’m sure everything will come to light in good time, but for now, I can’t help but think back to another famous D.C. sex scandal… you guessed it, that of President Bill Clinton!
In case you don’t know the basic facts of that case, President Clinton was under investigation (by the Congress-appointed special prosecutor Ken Starr) for certain sketchy behavior involving his real estate investments in Whitewater. During this investigation, a woman named Paula Jones brought a sexual harassment lawsuit against Clinton. He was called upon to testify and, claiming executive privilege, he went to the Supreme Court and asked to be exempt from giving testimony. The Supreme Court denied him such “privilege” and, while under oath during the Jones deposition, he lied about his affair with Monica Lewinsky. This lie lead to his impeachment by the House of Representatives and, while he was acquitted by the Senate, his actions left an indelible mark on the office of president and the consciousness of the American people.
Bill Clinton’s impeachment in 1996 is certainly the most well-known incidence of impeachment in American history, but government officials other than presidents can be impeached. Article II, Section 4 states: “The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors,” and since the Constitution’s ratification in 1789 there have been a variety of impeachments. Sixteen federal judges have been impeached, removed from office, and subsequently convicted of crimes. No Supreme Court Justices have been impeached, but in the early 1800s Thomas Jefferson tried to get Justice Samuel Chase, a known enemy of his, impeached and failed. Both presidents who were impeached (Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton) were then acquitted, and no cabinet secretaries or White House staffers have ever been impeached. Clearly, many members of the United States Government would be eligible for impeachment if they were ever to misstep; usually, though, if a civil officer does do wrong, he or she resigns before any action can be taken and/or Congress does not deem that person’s actions to be worthy of impeachment.
Therefore, had Petraeus not resigned, it could have been possible for him to be impeached, right? As head of the C.I.A. he certainly was a “civil Officer of the United States,” and, like Bill Clinton, he engaged in an extramarital affair and then took steps to cover his tracks. The F.B.I. even found out and didn’t say anything! Congress, in a fit of lame-duck fury, could have chosen to impeach Petraeus for this immorality and the surrounding.
They wouldn’t have, though, unless the Petraeus scandal turned into something that was an exact replica of President Clinton’s situation—while Petraeus had an affair and then tried to keep it under wraps, President Clinton had an affair which was then exposed during a different sexual harassment lawsuit. During said lawsuit, when questioned about the affair, he lied under oath. So not only was Clinton embroiled in a myriad of scandals, two of which involving questionable behavior towards women, but he also broke the law! Federal law declares perjury to be a felony and if someone is caught and prosecuted for committing perjury, he or she can serve up to a five year sentence in prison. Clinton was not impeached because of his affair with Monica Lewinsky or because of his relations with Paula Jones; Congress impeached him because the President of the United States broke the law.
And let’s clarify something, here, I’m a supporter of Clinton… or I would have been if I was not between the ages of two and eight during his presidency. However, if the President, the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the land, knowingly breaks a law, that’s pretty strong grounds for impeachement. Granted, perjury is not listed under the Article II, Section 4 qualifications, but there are two ways to argue that his impeachment did reach those requirements: 1) perjury can be equated to bribery because both are obstructions of justice—if you lie under oath or bribe a judge, you are hindering a case’s proceedings; or 2) that his perjury qualified as a “high Crime” or “Misdemeanor” because committing perjury is a federal offense for which the punishment is jail time.
The phrase “other high Crimes and Misdemeanors” is somewhat vague, but it seems clear that Clinton’s perjury falls under that category. David Petraeus’ actions don’t, though. Committing adultery is certainly cause for resignation and disgrace (somebody stop me before I go on a feminist rant), but is it in the same league as treason and bribery? In my opinion, a “high Crime” or “Misdemeanor” is something that’s the same magnitude as those two offenses. Murder? Definitely a high crime. Perjury? Sounds like a misdemeanor. Rape? One million percent impeachable. With things such as tax fraud, drug usage, and adultery, though, it’s kind of a murky situation. Also, most politicians who do commit these wrongs resign in disgrace before Congress would even have the chance to impeach them, which is perhaps for the best. If Congress were to impeach every sleazy politician in Washington, the act of impeachment would lose the weight that it carries, and it would no longer be a viable check against executive power.
Therefore, everybody needs to calm down about Petraeus. It’s up to you whether or not you think a politician’s personal life impacts his duties as a political figure , but the American people lost its opportunity to take any action against him when he resigned before Congress could impeach him. Yes, I’d like to know what exactly happened and why the F.B.I. got involved in such a suspicious manner, but our country’s got bigger fish to fry. (Has anyone else noticed how strange the weather has been lately? Also, what’s up with our broken educational system? And seriously, this fiscal cliff business has to be resolved.) We’re not impeaching Petraeus, so let’s hang our heads in embarrassment, allow him to disgracefully fade into the background, and get back to work.